THE QUINN'S FRENCH ODYSSEY

As I lie here on a plush bed on a sunny Sunday afternoon in a boutique hotel in the south of France, pretty shuttered window ajar, a cool summer breeze caressing my recently sun-beaten skin, and the bells of a nearby medieval church sounding a forte, disjointed chime, I reflect on my past week here. And I suddenly feel what I haven’t felt in a long time: inspiration. I immediately whip out my laptop from my backpack. The slick material feels unnaturally cold in my hands despite the heat of the afternoon, perhaps from being left undisturbed for a whole seven days. I rapidly input my password and click on a few things. Eleven months. That’s how much time has elapsed since I last posted any content. My hiatus from blogging, it seems, was about to come to an end. You must be wondering where I am exactly. Or maybe you follow me on Instagram and you already have an idea. Regardless, let me begin…

It all started with Rick Stein. For those reading who are unaware, Rick Stein is a British chef. My dad had been watching Rick Stein’s French Odyssey for quite a few years. In this show, Rick traverses the south of France by boat on the Canal du Midi, stopping along many different quaint towns along the way and sampling the best food that the French have to offer. As my dad sat and watched, he often said to us longingly that he would love to do that someday. However, that same hopeful daydream did not begin to take shape until just last year.

This year marks my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary. Around this time last year, my mum re-visited my dad’s dream and decided to turn it into a reality to celebrate this joyous and special occasion. The crew members for the week would be myself, my parents, my sister Barbara and her boyfriend Evan. Not only was it a special occasion due to my parents' anniversary and big birthdays though, but we also would be joined by some very important visitors. My brother Lucas and his girlfriend Becky would be gracing us with their presence. We hadn't seen them since they moved to Sydney about a year and a half ago. My dad would also be reunited with one of his close childhood friends (nicknamed Nanu) who is French/Argentinian and lives in Toulouse, who would join us for dinner on the first day with his wife Collette. And thus, the planning began. But first, you might be wondering, what is the Canal du Midi?

THE CANAL DU MIDI

The Canal du Midi is a 240km long canal in Southern France. The canal connects the Garonne to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean and along with the 193 km long Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers (Canal of the Two Seas), joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The canal runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Étang de Thau near the Mediterranean. The building of the canal was an old idea and has a rich history. King François I brought Leonardo da Vinci to France in 1516 and commissioned a survey of a route from Toulouse to Carcassonne. The construction of such a structure would save vessels and goods from sailing around the Iberian Peninsula which could take a month to complete. Several projects were put forth to the King in the 16th century, but were eventually abandoned due to cost and conviction of the human impossibility to dig such a canal. Nevertheless, Pierre-Paul Riquet, a wealthy collector of salt tax in Languedoc proposed a more convincing project than his predecessors. When Louis XIV received his proposal through the Archbishop of Toulouse in 1662, he saw the opportunity to deprive Spain of part of its resources, and the opportunity to mark his reign with an imperishable work. This time, funding was approved, and at the age of 63, Riquet started his great enterprise. Work began on the 1st of January 1667. A supply system was constructed, which successfully fed the canal with flowing water from the Montagne Noire, where it crossed the continental divide, replacing water that drained toward the two seas. The system was a masterpiece of both hydraulic and structural engineering. For fifteen years, nearly 12,000 workers worked on the construction of the canal and in 1681, an inauguration took place and the canal was officially running. Today's Canal du Midi has a total of 328 structures including 91 locks, 126 bridges, 55 aqueducts, 6 dams, 1 spillway, and 1 tunnel. It is one of the great achievements of the late 17th century and as such, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. Once used to transport goods and people, the canal is now mainly used by boaters and tourists.

Portrait of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the designer of the Canal du Midi

THE PLAN

When planning this trip, two things came to mind. First, what route we were going to take and second, what boat hire company we would go with. The route we decided to go with was as follows:

• Port Lauragais (departing)
• Castlelnaudary
• Bram
• Carcassonne
• Trebes
• Puicheric
• Homps
• Argens
• Le Somail (last stop)

This route is 118km long, takes 32 hours of navigation and comprises of 54 locks along the way. The reason we chose this route is because we all had an interest in seeing Carcassonne - an ancient medieval city (more on that later) and because Carcassonne airport was relatively near to our starting port. We looked at 3 boat hire companies:

1) Nicols
2) Le Boat
3) Locaboat

Ultimately, we settled on Nicols (a French company), as they had a boat size and price that suited us. We also rented bicycles to bring on the boat. And so we were off! Once landing in Carcassone airport, we got a taxi to Port Lauragais, which takes just under an hour. We did a quick stop at a SuperU on the way and picked up our groceries for the week which we had paid for in advance. Hands full of luggage, backpacks and now shopping bags, we finally arrived at the port and into our new home for the week: the boat (named Alaric). We had a 30 minute rundown with one of the Nicols representatives where he explained to us the basics of the boat including driving controls, how to moor the boat, how to navigate locks, and how to charge the boat with water, electricity and fuel. We said our goodbyes, promised to have the boat back in one piece and we set sail from Port Lauragais and into the Canal du Midi.

Admittedly, this was not the first canal I have seen, but it was definitely the most special and beautiful. A long ribbon of water stretches out as far as the eye can see,  also wide enough for two-way boat traffic. The canal banks are dotted with perfectly lined trees of various genus. Predominantly there are populus and plane trees, tall and ancient. Giant willows droop lazily and majestically, their oval, elongated leaves drawn to the canal water. The trees almost touch on either side, forming an arched canopy that covers parts of the sky, creating shadows and pockets of glimmering light along the calm waters and passing boats below. A few fishermen can be seen perched on the canal banks, fishing for freshwater bream and molluscs. The lock-keeper's houses are adorned with fruit trees and harvestables such as peaches, apples and figs, which lend their sweet aroma as you pass by.

THE LOCKS

It definitely was not plain sailing initially. None of us had ever driven a boat before, let alone a 10 ton boat. The first lock proved to be a challenge.

If you're sitting there wondering what locks are, they are basically gates put in place in several locations along the canal in order to successfully navigate the different elevations of the terrain. Unlike a river which runs freely downstream and upstream, a canal's waters are kept calm by these locks to ensure that boats drive slowly and protect the banks of the canal. There is a maximum speed of 8km/h on the Canal du Midi, and the boats provided cannot go above that. Once you reach a lock, you slow down and look ahead to see if the lock is open. If the water is at the same level on your side, the gate is open. If not, you have to moor your boat before you reach the lock and wait until the water is level before the gate opens. Most locks are manned by a lock keeper, however there are some which are manual. Once the gate opens, you drive into the lock slowly and moor your boat to one side. You do this by throwing ropes from the boat (one person at the front and the other at the back) to another person who gets off the boat and anchors the rope around T-shaped metal structures on the side of the canal. You then keep a tight grip so your boat is successfully moored to the wall (there are sometimes 3 boats inside a lock) and you proceed to wait until the water goes either up or down. Once the water is level, the gate in front of you opens, the ropes are cast back onto the boat and off you go, onto the next one.

Once we got past the first gate and into the first lock, there was pandemonium. We still had very little control of the boat at that point, and it was floating along with little direction. The young lock keeper kindly helped us moor the boat successfully onto the side, while an older man rolled his eyes at us, cussed loudly in French and stormed off. It seemed like an entire French village was surrounding us, eyeing up the foreign family curiously, while we stood like deers caught in headlights. This proved to be too much for myself and my sister. We proceeded to move to the lower decks of the boat to hide from all civilisation and contemplate on what we got ourselves into. 'I want to go home' was definitely exchanged a couple of times amidst all the panic. However, our fortune soon changed for the better. Once we got past the first lock, our second lock was manual and luckily, entirely devoid of any curious bystanders (or witnesses). This time around, we knew what to do and from here on out for the rest of the week, it really was plain sailing.

CASTELNAUDARY

Exhausted after the chaos of the first day, we moored the boat at Castelnaudary and got ready to meet my dad's friend Nanu and his wife Collette. Even though this may have been our first experience on a boat in a canal, it wasn't our first time in the south of France. As kids, my parents would always take us to the south of France for summer holidays. I have very fond memories of staying in mobile homes and chalets in camping sites, going swimming in the pools and down the water slides, my siblings and I making friends with other kids who were visiting, and meeting with my dad's friend Nanu who would show us around. It had been quite some time since we ventured to France and my dad missed his friend dearly, so it was long overdue seeing him again. As we all finished getting showered and dressed in the boat, we heard the distinctive noise of car tyres on gravel and we stepped outside the boat. A tiny, boxy, scarlet Fiat Panda rolled up to the boat which could only mean one thing, as this was so quintessentially him. Nanu had arrived. Nanu may be Argentinian by birth and by sense of humour, but he is definitely French in character, in that he is a true hedonist. His zest for life and carefree attitude always makes him wonderful company. He kindly did two runs with his car, and we quickly found ourselves in a charming restaurant in the middle of the French countryside. Here we all caught up on our lives over the past few years over some delicious Cassoulet (a stew from the region with pork, duck and beans) and local wine. It was the perfect ending to a great first day.

BRAM

With not enough time to explore Castelnaudary as we lingered for too long the day before, we moved onto the next stop on our route: Bram. The port in Bram was very unassuming and at first we thought we arrived at the wrong place; there seemed to be no town in sight. As we walked for a little bit, we saw a sign pointing to Bram. What followed next was a 1 kilometre stroll through golden fields of wheat, vegetable crops, along with the surreal backdrop of the Pyrenees covered in snow. We arrived in Bram. A sleepy little town, very old, with probably no more than 3,000 inhabitants. Bram is built in a concentric circle with French townhouses surrounding a large church which makes up the centrepiece. We explored the tiny streets, getting our first look of a typical French town since we had arrived. Colourful shutters, Evita-like balconies, perfectly placed flowerpots and wild, overgrown ivy were some of the features of these charming French homes. Everything was toned in a warm, yellow, happy colour. A lot of them looked more on the ancient and dilapidated side of things, but still managed to look so idyllic. We later found this was a recurring theme in French architecture. After exploring a little bit, we thought best to keep moving as we were still a bit behind schedule. We topped up some of our groceries and made the scenic journey back through the wheat fields to the boat, with mam of course doing some foraging along the way, picking up some fresh herbs that were growing in the wild and some wildflowers to "make the boat more homey". Once we got back to the boat, we had our usual holiday lunch of baguettes with cold meats and salads, and we continued our voyage to our next stop: Carcassonne. However, the distance from Bram to Carcassonne was by far the biggest stretch in our route (23km) and we did not make it in time. It's worth noting that the locks close for lunch between 12-1 and for the day at 7. As golden hour approached and the locks soon closed for the day, ravenous, we moored the boat and decided to go on a hunt for pizza nearby. While I may have forgotten to photograph the pizza due to starvation (like most of the food on this holiday), I did capture some scenes along the way including some more French countryside, pastel lavender skies and an ethereal full moon. 

CARCASSONNE

After a few more hours of sailing in the morning, we had finally arrived at Carcassonne. With roughly 47,000 inhabitants, Carcassonne is a small city, yet the largest that we would pass in our voyage through the canal and definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The city is famous for its hilltop, walled, medieval citadel known as the cité. We plugged the boat into the dock for electricity, topped up the water and left to explore Carcassonne. Buildings were taller and more grand here than in any of the towns we had seen so far, reminiscent of Paris but on a much smaller scale and less busy. There were the usual pretty shutters and colourful French facades, large balconies with ornate details on the railings, wide pedestrianised streets with a mix of high street shops and local boutiques selling anything from lavender to Herbs de Provence. Above the main street hung a line of umbrellas of many colours, closed, but would later open. Reaching the end of the street, we reached the city's large central plaza which was lined with cafe's, bistro's, bars, boulangeries and patisseries, all complete with outdoor tables filled with people eating, drinking and smoking merrily. We marched on, heading for the cité.

 

CITÉ DE CARCASSONNE

After some more walking through the city, we took a turn, crossed a large bridge over the river Aude and then saw the stark outline of the incredible cité. A huge, walled fortress with towers, turrets, ramparts and pointed slated peaks dominating the horizon, glinting in the sun. The nerd in me felt a jolt of excitement as I was suddenly reminded of Hogwarts. We began the climb to the cité, passing by what was perhaps the prettiest part of Carcassonne, and we decided to take the tour which costs 8 euro. The fortress has about 2,500 years of history and has been occupied in different ages by Romans, Visigoths, Saracens, and Crusaders. The city's walls are 3km long and the structure is made up of 52 towers. The walls house a town, once prosperous and boasting a population of 4,000, before many sieges destroyed it time and time again. Today, there are 50 permanent residence households living within the ancient city walls and a Gothic Church which was upgraded to a Basilica in 1898 by Pope Leo XIII. From the top of the castle, I stood and gazed over the city's houses with shallow-pitch terracotta tile roofs and I was now reminded of not only Hogwarts, but King's Landing in Game of Thrones.

TREBES, PUICHERIC & HOMPS

Having spent two days in Carcassonne, it was (sadly) time to continue on to our next stop: Trebes. Trebes was even tinier than Bram, but for what it didn't have in size, it sure made up for in charm. We spent the morning exploring for a few hours, before moving on to Puicheric.

In Puicheric, we were recommended a restaurant called Chez Modeste by Nanu, owned by a Catalunyan chef. We had all dressed in white that evening for a family photo we had planned. Head to toe in white, we began the walk towards Puicheric. The journey into the town required having to traverse through vineyards as the sun was setting. We all found ourselves laughing at how ridiculous the situation was, feeling like we were entering the gates of heaven. It didn't get more French and fairytale than this. Chez Modeste did not disappoint in the slightest and was one of the best meals we all ever had. Our walk back from Puicheric to the boat had us backtracking through the vineyards, with moonlight, the stars and fireflies being the only light available, illuminating our ghostly white outfits. While parking beside the vineyards and may have been charming, it had its downside: insects. As soon as we entered the boat, a swarm of mosquitos, flies and ticks followed us and a massacre ensued. Once there were no survivors left, we relaxed with some board games and a few gin and tonics, all the while watching an approaching storm in the distance, large ominous stratus clouds flashing threatening but beautiful blue and white lightning. Later that night, we were all woken up by the cracking of thunder and summer rain pounding on the boat. And after the couple of days of intense heat we had, it was very welcome indeed.

The next morning, we headed for Homps, where we went swimming. We hadn't been swimming yet on this holiday as we weren't near the coast and swimming was forbidden in the canal. Luckily, there was a large lake near Homps. We made good use of the bikes and cycled to the lake, passing yet again more vineyards and wheat fields, realising now that wine and wheat are probably the region's biggest exports. Once again, we found ourselves amused at how idyllic everything was. It all felt very "Call Me By Your Name". 

GOODBYES AT SOMAIL & RETURN TO CARCASSONNE

Once we reached our final stop at Somail, we went for our final dinner of the holiday and the next morning, we said our goodbyes. For my siblings and their partners, this was their last day. Lucas and Becky were flying back to Ireland a day early, and Barbara and Evan were going to join his family in Bergerac (near Bordeaux) for another week. My parents and myself had booked a hotel in Carcassonne and planned to stay for another day. Lucas & Becky left first to catch a flight, and then the rest of us waved goodbye to Aleric (somehow still in one piece) and got a taxi from Somail back to Carcassonne, where we dropped off Barbara and Evan at the train station and said our goodbyes. Myself and my parents left our bags at the hotel and headed out to the weekend market, which was located in the main plaza which we passed just days before. We enjoyed some hot coffee and croque madames for breakfast, before wandering around the various stalls. There were cheese stands with huge wheels of pungent local cheeses such as Emmental, Roquefort and Chevre, stands dedicated solely to Herbs de Provence and wild garlic, cured meats, mountains of peaches and other fruit, their smell which lingered in the air, olives of different sizes and varieties, fresh croissant and pain au chocolat, and many more delicacies. I was in foodie heaven. After picking up a few things, we headed back to the hotel through the streets of Carcassonne, casting one final loving glance at French paradise and soon collapsing on our beds at the boutique hotel. My parents decided to take a nap, when I got the inspiration to start writing this blog (which I am now finishing in Ireland). 

And so concludes our adventures through the Canal du Midi and I have to say, it was an unforgettable experience and one of our favourite holidays personally. I would highly recommend it to anyone, particularly if you've never been to France and want something a little different. Not only is living on a boat for the week an experience in itself, but it's a unique way of seeing the south of France. It's also a great thing to do as part of a group of friends or family; the camaraderie you share while sailing the boat through the canal is pretty special. And for us, the occasion itself was special too. What a way to celebrate an anniversary, and I feel lucky to have shared in the experience too. Until next time, France!

Tom.